Moses Lake port officials start fuel cleanup study

MOSES LAKE — A fuel tank leak at the Port of Moses Lake that occurred in the mid-1990s will be the subject of a new study and possible additional cleanup. Port directors approved a contract for further evaluation of the site, called Pumphouse 1, at the regular meeting Jan. 22.

The contract was for about $92,200 and will pay for an evaluation of the site by Stantec Consulting Services. Port officials signed an agreed order with the Washington Department of Ecology and an agreement with ExxonMobil in October, starting the cleanup review.

Airport Director Rich Mueller said there was a fuel leak at the site in the mid-1990s, when ExxonMobil was using the facility. Some of the underground tanks and pipes date back to the time Grant County International Airport was Larson Air Force Base, before the port was established. Eventually, they began to leak. 

The leak was discovered when it occurred, Mueller said, and mitigation has been going on since. The DOE had asked for further remediation at the site prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mueller said.

“They thought we should be doing, either something different, or more,” Mueller said. “(The pandemic) slowed everything down. After COVID ran its course and it came to their attention again, they felt we need to do a new study and see if there are new and better methods. Because our mediation is effective, but it is slow.”

Holly Stafford, the attorney representing the port, said DOE officials asked for a negotiated agreement to clean up the site. That agreement was ratified by the port, ExxonMobil and DOE in October. 

Under that order, ExxonMobil will pay for at least 50% of the costs, and port officials will apply for a DOE grant for the remaining 50%. If the port doesn’t get the grant, ExxonMobil will pay the entire cost. 

“What this particular step will do is create a work plan. Not the sampling yet, but just the work plan for where the sample should be collected, what should be collected, what does that look like, as well as all the quality plans and safety plans and whatnot that go along with that,” Stafford said.

The agreed order requires ExxonMobil to pay part or all the costs until a new cleanup plan is prepared, if one is needed. 

“Once the work plan has been drafted and someone is under contract, they (will) poke all the holes, figure out what’s going on, develop a remedial action plan — maybe the same plan that’s being implemented now. We’ll have to wait and see,” Stafford said.

If more work is needed, port officials, DOE officials and ExxonMobil would negotiate a new plan to determine who would pay which share of the cleanup. 

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.